Anne-Lise, an avid reader of our little blog, emailed us the following: "I have been meaning to send in pictures of my own apartment in Oslo for a while now. It is in a building from 1901 in a cosy neighbourhood. Crown moldings and hardwood floors are original and in great shape. The style is somewhat mixed of Scandinavian with some old finds from grandparents etc, and some things are things that I have either made myself, like the large lamp in the living room. I created that along with my father by using seven lamps from Ikea. The dining table and chairs were in a sad condition when my sister gave them to me, but with lots of love, sanding and oil they all came back to life. It is sad to me that I have to say goodbye to the place, but alas I cannot take it with me to Paris, France where I have just bought a new place." What better way to say goodbye than to have a little DTI feature on a Friday! I can see why you'll be sad to see this place go Anne-Lise, but moving to Paris is so exciting! Hope you'll share photos of your new home with us once you're settled. :)

I have a burning question about the fireplace: Is it REAL? The wood seems to say yes - but how complicated is the ventilation? I SOOOO want to put some (faux?) fire element in my apt, but cant cut into the building or anything. Any advice on this???Nothing would make me happier than a hearth/fire - especially on these loooong Chicago nights...Thanks!!

Hello everyone :) I am so happy you like the space! I spent a lot of love on it! The fireplace is indeed real, and it is amazing when it gets to be -25 celcius in Norway. I do not know anything about faux fires, but there are a lot of gorgeous ones out there.

Some of you asked about the light cloud (that is exactly how I thought of it too) We used seven small lamps that reminds of the Fillsta from Ikea. I just went to the website and it seems they have discontinued the exact lamp. Then we used something my dad called (directly translated) sugar cubes to connect them all together. The wires and sugar cubes were then hidden in a metall tooth brush cup that we drilled holes in to let all the wires come out (if that makes sense) unfortunately that is not visible in the photos. The lamp is in storage at the moment, but when I get it out I will send Kim and Jo more pictures so you can see how it is done.

The husband, dog and I are really excited about the new Paris place. Hopefully when we have done some work, and oh lets not forget, gotten the keys, we will send updates. Hopefully our new (very old) store and former welder's shop will be nice enough to make it on to this lovely blog too!

Omigosh, such a beautiful home. Love all of the character, especially the high ceilings. And it's decorated so beautifully and simply. I love the soft hand of the decor, so it doesn't detract from all that wonderful character. I could live there and not change a thing! In fact, I wish I lived there! I so understand the feelings associated with a move from a place you love. Sadness for the old place, mixed with optimism about the new. Good luck on your journey, I hope you will post pictures of your new place.